Asia Pacific travel retail sales grew +11.5% in 2016

In the first nine months of 2016 DF&TR sales in Asia Pacific grew 11.5% driven by huge growth in the beauty category, revealed the TFWA President, Erik Juul-Mortensen yesterday morning at the China’s Century Conference in Guangzhou.

Juul-Mortensen talked about the importance and hope for sustainable economic growth in China; where the GDP is now forecast to grow 6.5% in 2017, slightly down from the 6.7% recorded in 2016. He talked about the expanding middle class in China as well as the huge investments in airports and aviation.

These include developments at Shanghai Pudong, Beijing Daxing airports and host airport Guangzhou Baiyun International among others, which will see the Chinese airport sector’s worth rise to $22bn by 2020.

Interestingly, Juul-Mortensen pointed out that since 2013 international passengers from China using low cost carriers have grown by +142%

LAND OF OPPORTUNITY

Unsurprisingly, the TFWA President called China the ‘Land of Opportunity’ referring particularly to relatively recent developments in the downtown and arrivals business, as reported by TRBusiness.

Juul-Mortensen pointed out that since 2013 international passengers from China using low cost carriers have grown by +142%.

Like other speakers, Juul-Mortensen identified the Chinese millennials as those who will cplay a critical role for the duty free and travel retail industry going forward.

They are especially important when one considers that Chinese millennials in particular far outspend their Asian peers and 97% share their travel experiences online. As early adopters of technology, Chinese millennials are permanently in possession of their smartphones and connected to each other – most likely through Wechat – at all times.

E-COMMERCE GIANTS GROW STRONGER

Juul-Mortensen also highlighted the threat and opportunity of e-commerce, pointing out that in the first two hours of the biggest shopping holiday in China, Singles Day, world famous etailer, Alibaba, made $7bn in sales.

The TFWA President then moved on to talk about the cruise opportunity in China, revealing that the market has grown by +62% between 2005-2015.

However, having highlighted the obvious potential and many opportunities in China, Juul-Mortensen stressed that it is still very difficult for brands to enter market and it will require collaboration, communication and creativity to fully open up the market.